Get off Daddy...

Get off Daddy, I want to play the bloop bloops

I've broken out the old eKeys 49 to have a noodle and a sketch, getting ready for my attempt to "make a tune a month" for 2011... anyway, Poppy loves making music / sounds through the keyboard, and always loves seeing the old eKeys come out (I really should do it more often!)... mind you, I don't get much tuneage done when she's hogging the pooter!



PianoTrem by lepeep

Chocolate, Chocolate...

Chocolate, Chocolate, good for the brain...

and repeat. A song for when one is stirring delicious truffle mix. Can't wait.... must wait....

I love your music Daddy...

I love your music Daddy, it's so 'bop to the beat'

In the car, and a bit o' Vibert drops... Poppy stops what she's doing... I think we've got an acid head on our hands. "dear Santa, can I have white gloves and a glow stick please"...

is that zombie horse...

is that zombie horse a good one or a bad one?

Poppy and I have an apres tea time mosh to some "zombie music, dad" (carcass, "reek of putrefaction") ... she wants to know if Jeff Walker has two eyes?... so we take a peek at the album artwork (careful those of you with a weak disposition!) and oh, there are zombie horses on the back.

They are like a happy...

They are like a happy Arab Strap!

I had the pleasure of seeing FOUND at the tunnels in Aberdeen tonight. They've got a fantastic set up, guitar, bass, synth/beats/fx and vocals. It's hard to describe, which makes them so fresh and interesting, angular punky / funky guitars with a sound to die for, throbbing bass, with a twist of 60's pop and some superb, grime / dubstep / techno beats with oodles of delay fx, on top of all this is Ziggy's truly proud scottish rasping vocals... at one point, the simple 4/4 electro bass / snare + scottishness really did remind me of early Arab Strap, but these guys appear to have fun, and sing about up beat things... it's a short, but fulfilling set, the sound in the Tunnels could do with improvement, but the minimal set up they had managed to avoid the usual muddy wall of noise. I thought it was fantastic, and Gabi & Chloe thought FOUND were fantastic too (First time they'd seen them).

I also liked Indian Red Lopez, first time I'd seen them (but I've heard and seen them online before), I thought their tunes were excellent, it's great to see polished, progressive local talent like this, I hope they get a decent break (yes, you A&R men too lazy of snobby to travel outside of London).

Get out and see these two bands, I urge thee.

They can't really...

They can't really mess it up... can they?

Intrepidation, pre-godflesh gig in the Arches, Glasgow with Sinky & McAulay... we're all thinking "we can't be disappointed by this, can we?" "there's no drum kit on stage..." sinky points out... and finally, just Benny & Justin appear... looks like it's going to be "the classics". and oh yes, we were not disappointed in the slightest! Opening tune? Rats! AMAZING. Christbait next AMAZING. Streetcleaner AMAZING. Avalanche master song (if i remember)... veins ? pure... oh, it all becomes a blur, but what a fantastic set - old school, simple, clear and loud... just bloody fantastic. Big thanks to McAulay for coming with me! I hope his hearing recovers.

Are you really going to see a band tomorrow?..

Are you really going to see a band tomorrow? Can I come with you?

yes indeed! we (Mark McAulay and I) are going to see GODFLESH tomorrow in Glasgow, first time for me (I've only waited 19 years for the privilege! (thanks to Andy Hamilton giving me a shot of streetcleaner all those years ago!)) I wonder if he will be there... and would I recognise him?! anyway, Poppy... no, it's too far away, you'd be asleep by the time we'd got to Glasgow... mind you, "veins" might wake you up....

You CAN eat Ice cream...

You CAN eat Ice cream in October, in Aberdeen!

We had a delightful surprise phone call, and subsequent meeting with Rich & Kel from Australia, over to see his niece & nephew he's never seen thus far... they've been based in Inverness, and are leaving for London tomorrow - so today was the only chance to see them. Hooked up in the Lemon Tree for a spot of Lunch and Jazz, such a beautiful day, blue skies with billowing white (snow?!) clouds... Perfect for an ice cream at the beach! (It is a barmy 6 degrees!)... nope, if you live in Melbourne, that might as well be Kelvin! he he. We sadly say good buy, after only 3 hours... but it was lovely to catch up in person, safe journey R&K!

Put Pigface on!

Put Pigface on so we can have a mosh mosh!

Poppy whispered "I'm still alive" yesterday (for some odd reason)... and this reminded me of a Pigface song - so I dug out the CD and listened to it in the car, Poppy said "what does pigface sound like?" (seeing as she wasn't in the car with me)... "oh, it's mosh music"...

This is the best class ever...

This is the best class ever, I don't want it to finish!

Gabi and I had the pleasure of running a mask making workshop for danceLive, in line with Gabi's images she was commissioned to produce for the "Games for Scotland" (Aberdeen). We didn't have many kids attend sadly, but the ones that did come, were brilliant and loved every minute of it. We even had Poppy with us, and she made a few new friends! (in the cardboard fort and outside!). Young Amy gave us the Quote for the day, as she made a dragon mask, fake flames on a stick, and some double sided fire bugs to boot! ace fun.

I was also lucky enough to host a CCS networking night in cityMoves too, where Andrew Dixon (head of Creative Scotland), Professor Paul Harris (Head of Gray's) and Ian Spink (choreographer) gave us an interesting night of talks and performances... thanks to everyone that came

If you swallow macaroni down the wrong pipe...

If you swallow macaroni down the wrong pipe, don't worry Poppy, you can still breathe if it goes in long ways.

this was preceded with "ooh! I've swallowed a macaroni down the wrong pipe!" after noming into a nice macaroni pie from the bakers, on our way to Claypots today. I think this works for any hollow food stuffs... the downside? your breath then smells of said food stuff for 4 days, until the food turns into CO2. Or a burp.... which is smelly CO2.

I think she dislodged it with some moshing, so that's OK.

I want to be a ...

I want to be a zombie Bride!

Gabi and I think that Poppy is 99.9% likely to be a goth when she grows up. Butterfly? fairy? Princess?... nope! he he

I only had one Dark Throne lp when I was young... I didn't think it actually affected my DNA...

Ah! I've found the Smelly...

Ah! I've found the Smelly D!

During our NEOS week at the wyness hall, the old beat up piano has provided a lot of fun for the kids... hell for the adults, no doubt!... if only for one note that doesn't even like itself! the middle D... it's just so discordant, it's amazing. Check the video... hopefully the sound's "good enough" so you can hear how bad it is!

Down there, lives the grumpy bear...

Down there, lives the grumpy bear, up there, lives the little bird

Having some fun with Cadhla on the old johanna... she loves tinkling on the ivories, so I give her the chat about "low notes" and "high notes" ... problem is, Rud is now known as "grumpy bear".. he he... Hound Dog!

And the best bit about playing a didgeridoo...

And the best bit about playing a didgeridoo is you can blow a raspberry on your arm forever!

The local primary school asked my to play my Didge for a P6 class doing a project on Australia... "no wuckin forries" I slurred... (in my head...OK OK). I trooped in carrying the two didges I have, inquisitive kids thinking "What are they?!"... I met Ms Calder, whom introduced me to the class... and after some quick hellos and G'day's (why?!)... we headed to the music room... some "introductory sort of Australian history" was touched upon, the good old "lets make a drone last for ages" kicked in... eyes agog as the drone fills the air... "how can he do it for so long?"... everyone has a shot, and my goodness, everyone managed to make the low drone noise on the mid-sized didge. fantastic. There's a box of beaters / sticks... and we get some Rolf "sun-a-rise" action on the go... kids have a built in metronome at around 160bpm... not quite the pace of shamanistic mantra, granted.. but good fun. Big thanks to Kellands school

Can I just have...

Can I just have my favourite song on just one more time...please?

Poppy's got a favourite new tune, it's the taken by Trees song "Day by Day" from the album "east of Eden"... we've heard it 8 times today...

What?! Where's my copy of...

What?! Where's my copy of Small Change Gone?!

Dang Nabbit! As I am reading the Tom Waits Biog "Low side of the Road" by Barney Hoskyns, I'm itching to listen to all the LP's as I read about their creation and recording... Over the weekend, I'd been reading about Small Change, the fantastic 1976 album and went looking for it in my cd collection... what?! where is it?! it's the only one I'm missing! (and I DID have it...) Who did I lend it to? to show the genius of "step right up"? Gahhhhh damnit! ... needless to say "Small Change + zip" worked a treat, wink wink. I've also re-purchased it on Amazon... for a paltry £3.99 - I'd advise you do the same.

I saw Elvis...

I saw Elvis in a cloud!

Driving home from Aberdeen (stuck in the traffic thanks to some clever twit closing the entire northbound traffic on Ellon Road - so everyone goes to the Huddigan.... grumble grumble) I was listening to some nice Rhythm and Sound remixes, when all of a sudden, Elvis appeared in a cloud... swift and mercurial, I managed to snag a photo in the stationary trafic... tell me you see him too... uh hu? thanq verrry much, ladies n gentlemen.



Never mind the giant fluffy baby I saw...

Macaroni Cheese and...

Macaroni Cheese and Dark Chocolate

Tonight was the MUSA re-launch by BrewDog... Good to see that the Chefs are still the same, as the "old" musa food was delicious, and it still is, but, I think they've been given a mission to "test" by the BrewDog loons... tonight, we had macaroni and chocolate & blue cheese ice cream. I think the mission was to make memorable food that people discuss... bingo, it worked!

As a bonus, when leaving, Gabi and I bumped into Kenny AlaFu! He's such a cool guy, always has time to talk to people..and the good news is, he's setting up a studio in Aberdeen! fantastic!

I love ash...

I love ash, because it destroys people

Pretty speechless at this one from my little, darling Poppy. We got a fire going at Claypots today - and Poppy sat mesmerised by the flames... blurting out this gem.

"hot winds burn me, I'm burning as I fall..."